San Jose man’s Vietnamese brothers granted visas for...

1of4Tu Le, 63, poses for a portrait in his home in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Le's Vietnamese brothers, Lam Le and Hiep Nguyen, are desperate to travel to the United States to donate bone marrow to their dying sibling. The brothers applied for temporary visitor visas in late May, but they were denied entry to the U.S. just a few days later, the family said. A bone marrow transplant is the only thing that can save the 63-year-old man.Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

2of4Tu Le (left), 63, and Melody Bui, 61, pose for a portrait in their home in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Bui is her husband's full-time caretaker as he battles cancer. Le's Vietnamese brothers, Lam Le and Hiep Nguyen, are desperate to travel to the United States to donate bone marrow to their dying sibling. The brothers applied for temporary visitor visas in late May, but they were denied entry to the U.S. just a few days later, the family said. A bone marrow transplant is the only thing that can save the 63-year-old man.Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

3of4Melody Bui, 61, checks Tu Le's blood pressure in their home in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Bui is her husband's full-time caretaker as he battles cancer. Le's Vietnamese brothers, Lam Le and Hiep Nguyen, are desperate to travel to the United States to donate bone marrow to their dying sibling. The brothers applied for temporary visitor visas in late May, but they were denied entry to the U.S. just a few days later, the family said. A bone marrow transplant is the only thing that can save the 63-year-old man.Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

4of4Tu Le of San Jose, is shown hospitalized at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, Calif. on March 30, 2018. Le suffers from a rare form of cancer and a bone marrow transplant could save his life. His two brothers in Vietnam are matches to supply the marrow transplant, but they have been denied entry visas to the United States.Photo: visa0607 / SFC

Reversing an earlier decision, federal officials agreed Tuesday to let two Vietnamese brothers into the U.S. to provide a bone-marrow transplant that could save their dying sibling’s life.

The decision, which followed a Chronicle report, was announced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose. It means that Lam Le and Hiep Nguyen will be able to travel to the U.S. to see their brother Tu Le and provide bone marrow to treat a rare form of blood cancer.

Le’s family did not return calls for comment Tuesday, and it was not clear when the brothers will arrive.

Le, 63, a United States citizen living in San Jose, had been unable to find a suitable match on national registries. Test results found that his brothers in Vietnam were perfect matches but federal officials declined to grant them temporary visas, saying there was no proof they would return home.

The Chronicle first reported that the brothers were denied entry into the country after they learned they were a bone marrow match and applied for visitor visas for the medical procedure.

A father of four, Le was diagnosed in January 2018 with a form of blood cancer known as myelodysplastic syndrome, said his daughter, Trinh Colisao.

Lam Le and Nguyen are 100% genetic matches to Le, which is extremely rare, according to his physicians at Stanford.

The brothers sent in visa applications at the end of May to travel to the United States, but immigration officials rejected their visa applications earlier this month. Officials cited a lack of evidence on the brothers’ applications that they would return to Vietnam after the transplant.

Multiple members of Congress from California, including Lofgren, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, and Sen. Kamala Harris called on federal officials to help the brothers enter the country.

Lofgren said she spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Dan Kritenbrink, on June 10, and he offered to arrange another interview for the brothers at the U.S. Consulate in Vietnam on Tuesday, so that new information could be considered in the case.

“I couldn’t be happier for Tu Le and his family,” she said.

Harris echoed the sentiment, saying she was “pleased the Department of State has recognized the moral imperative to act, and that Tu Le will receive the urgent and life-saving care he needs.”

“My thoughts will be with Tu Le, his daughter Diem Trinh Colisao, and the rest of their family throughout the road ahead.”

Le immigrated to the U.S. in 1992. He and his wife, Melody Bui, later became U.S. citizens. Today, Bui cares for Le full time in the couple’s San Jose home.

In a May 21 letter submitted to the U.S. Consulate in Vietnam with the brothers’ visa applications, Le’s physician at Stanford Health Care, Laura Johnston, wrote about the urgent need for a bone marrow transplant to save his life.

“Of the nine potential donors, only two are a perfect match,” the letter said. “Using a perfect match will improve chances for a successful transplant and reduces risk of complications.”

Without a transplant, Le’s cancer will advance quickly, and he would have only a few weeks to live, his daughter said.